Kelsey’s Archive

APU All Access Weekends Are My Favorite :)

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

If you are even considering coming to APU, I would highly encourage coming to an APU All Access campus preview. I love APU All Access. I love it so much that I went to two of them and now host students who come. :)

I went to my first APU All Access my junior year.  My best friend and I had wanted to go to APU for years. Jana’s Dad is an alumni of the college so she had been here for Homecoming many a few times but want to experience APU as a student.  I had never been to APU and was hoping it would live up to Jana’s stories and what I’d heard from others.

My best friend Jana and I hanging out on West Campus in March 08 :)

My best friend Jana and I hanging out on West Campus in March 08 :)

I had so much fun my first preview weekend!  It was fun to experience dorm life, go to a chapel, sit in on classes, and just learn more about APU.

Jana and I again :) Seems like so long ago!! The background is the Darling Library (West Campus)

Jana and I again :) Seems like so long ago!! The background is the Darling Library (West Campus)

So why did I go to a second APU All Access? I know, it seems kind of strange. One of my best friends moved away in junior high and called me to tell me she was going to an APU All Access campus preview in January of my senior year.  I only get to see her about every other year and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a weekend. :)

Lainey and I at the January All-Access. We are sitting in the front row for a basketball game!! It was so much fun!

Lainey and I at the January APU All Access. We are sitting in the front row for a basketball game!! It was so much fun!

I was accepted in December because I did “Early Action” but I thought that another APU All Access could confirm my discoing. It definitely did! You may have heard that APU has great community and that everyone is really friendly, and its true! The best example that I experienced while I was visiting occurred after sitting in on a Journalism class.

We watched the Women and Men's teams play! It was pretty awesome. APU Basketball is kind of a big deal here :)

We watched the Women and Men's teams play! It was pretty awesome. APU Basketball is kind of a big deal here :)

The professor talked to me and the other preview student before starting class. He asked us where we were from and if we were interested in Journalism. The class was interesting but after it was over a girl in the class stopped us and asked us why we were interested in APU.  She shared her experience in the Journalism program and then asked us where we were headed next.  It was lunchtime so she offered to drive us back to East Campus even though we said we could easily walk or talk the trolley.  While driving us back she shared more about why she loved APU and how much she enjoyed her classes.

It seems like such a small gesture but looking back it really meant a lot to me as a preview student. A college student not even related to the All-Access program took time out of her day to spend time with, talking to, and talk about APU with some high schooler who, in way, interrupted her classes and routine. It just showed the honest friendliness and community at APU.

Honestly, if you have any interest in APU, come to an APU All Access campus preview.  I’ve heard the best way to choose a college is to go to the campus and envision yourself there. Personally, APU definitely fit that description and I easily ruled out others by visiting campus.

I had an awesome time hanging out with the girls who stayed in my room for All Access :) I’m so glad they enjoyed their weekend here.  Both are planning on coming to APU next year! Can’t wait to see you guys! :)

-Kelsey

P.S. Just a helpful college hint… ALWAYS randomly hit the “Control/Command S” button while typing ANYTHING.  While writing this blog and outlining the entire book of Exodus my Microsoft Word decided it would be funny to have “an unexpected error.” Not so funny when it only recovers half of each document. Sigh. Oh well :)

Also, if you are interested in an APU All Access campus preview you should go here:

https://www.apu.edu/admissions/undergraduate/visit/

(It gives dates, cost, and all the fun events that you’ll do :)

Crazy Busy Day :)

Saturday, November 14th, 2009

Packed day of class, service, alpha, and fun :)

When I refer to today, I mean Tuesday the 3rd :) I always write my blogs late at night and don’t have time to spell-check or see if they even make any sense. So there is usually at least a day delay.

Today has been a crazy day… but a really great day too. Here busy day

Slept in until 10:45 because my 8:05 Run/Walk/Jog class was canceled. This was an excellent start to the day. Not that it’s a bad class, but “Run-Run” as we like to call it doesn’t really motivate me at 8:05 in the morning. It’s a good class for avoiding the dreaded ‘freshman 15’ but it seems so early. I honestly am not sure how I went to class that early 3 days a week last year. Oh right, I went to sleep before 2. But that is my personal preference… Not everyone stays up so late. I just haven’t slept before midnight in at least a year.

Back to my day.. Sleeping in was amazing (and gave me 8.5 hours of sleep) but I was almost late for my 11:25 Health and Wellness class. My roommate and I both fast-walked to West Campus. I made it in time for our class discussion on dating. Health is often a lot of lecturing about eating right, making goals in life, and excising. It isn’t my favorite class but my professor makes it really simple with little homework and true/false tests. The class today started out ad an awkward but turned into one of the funniest class periods I’ve had all semester. Including a guy shouting “if I’m paying for her dinner it better be considered a date!!” Maybe you had to be there :)

Right after Class I went to Sam’s Subs to grab lunch. Sam’s is basically APU’s version of Subway and is definitely my favorite food place on campus. It also is probably the fastest place, which is really important if you have classes back to back.

From 1:05-2:30 I had Intro to Lit. We are currently studying Othello (a play by Shakespeare). We have daily quizzes each class that are usually really difficult unless you pay close attention to the reading. I’m happy to say I got over an 11/10 on the Act 2 and Act 3 Quiz. I feel like there is such a strong sense of accomplishment when I do well in the class because it isn’t the easy ‘A’ course.  The last half hour classmates volunteered to perform parts in the play at Seven Palms. Seven Palms is a small Amphitheater near the mail center on East Campus. It was nice to get out of the classroom but by the end of class I couldn’t wait to get back into my air-conditioned dorm room. :)

I came home (to my dorm) and planned on relaxing and attempting some homework but then I got a text at 2:55 reminding me I had a D-Group meeting in 5 minutes. I’m almost positive D-Group is short for ‘devotion group’ or a small group of girls that meet specifically to fellowship, have accountability, and be able to pray for each other. It was the second meeting but the first for me because I wasn’t able to make the first one. All of the girls seem to have conflicting schedules in the group, which left only three of us meeting today.  It was fun still to get to know my leader and another group member over a smoothie at Paradise Juice Cafe.

Right after the D-group meeting I walked to the Village so I could get a ride to The Homework House. The Homework House is a great opportunity for APU students to service (and get service credits) by tutoring at-risk kids in the Azusa Community.  Today was my third time working but I already love it. I tutored a high school sophomore with Algebra which went really well but also meant a lot to me because I remember getting tutored for the same class by my old small group leader.  It just shows how connected everyone is and it was nice to be able to give back.

Right after Homework House I had a meeting for Homework House at Starbucks. It was a really awesome meeting but I’m not gonna lie, one of the most exciting things was the fact the Starbucks Christmas coffee is out! Meaning Peppermint Mochas are back!! I’m not even that much of a coffee addict but I love Starbuck’s peppermint Mochas. And the Peppermint frappucinos. It just seems weird that its not cold or rainy to go along with the hot drinks :) It seems so strange it has only rained once since this season. Or that I almost had heat stroke while watching them perform Othello at Seven Palms. But I love warm weather and I’m going to be happy to miss the week-long rains.

I have to sign up for classes tomorrow.  I had my schedule fully planned out but when I looked today at my class options, two of them were already full.  Unfortunately, that meant I spent about 3 hours trying to redo my schedule for Spring 09.  I probably could have spent a little less time if I would have let myself take early morning classes, but honestly, that isn’t going to happen. It was probably my forth time messing with my schedule, I had it all planned out but then my advisor told me to change one class when I meet with her, and that threw off my whole schedule.  I’m also looking at studying abroad in South Africa which I’ll talk about in another blog but that also made me save some classes.

I had an Alpha meeting at 10 tonight too. Ah, I did so much today!  My leader made us Pazooki and we had fun just hanging out.

At 1:00am I realized I still had Intro to Communication Studies homework, which was happens to me a lot.  Like blogging, I tend to save my homework until later in the day. And by later in the day, I mean sometimes not finishing it until the next day.  Luckily, it was an easy, fun assignment where we had to create a page long movie plot that was marketable.

And now, I’m writing this blog around 2:00am on my iTouch because I can’t sleep. I really need to go to bed. Sorry for the lack of blogs lately, I’m blogging more now that midterms are over! Be ready to hear about All Access Weekend, South Africa Semester, and all the other exciting stuff.

Finally a Video!

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

I promised the next blog would include videos.. so here you go!

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This is Karissa and Purple (Michelle) singing at an event called ‘Color the Night.’

Color the Night was an event to show APU creativity through student artwork and music . It was fun to see APU students play fun music and see all the beautiful artwork. :)

The next video has a story behind it.

Smith (the all guy hall) started dressing up for family/hall dinners.  Family/Hall Dinner is where you eat with your entire hall in the Dinning Hall. Not only do you dress up as the theme, you are supposed to act the part.  I believe the first theme for the Smith hall was Egyptians but it’s since been sheep, beggars, and other crazy ideas. Trinity 1st South has been waiters and first graders. Trinity 4th North have been really funny nerds and babies.

3rd North decided we wanted to go all out for our first ‘themed’ family dinner. Our theme was Safari, which meant we dressed up as wild animals. Yes, its a little bit crazy but it was a whole lotta fun :)

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Lack of Color, Gain of Knowledge

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

I’m having an issue with videos uploading on every site except for Facebook. Which seems really strange because around here its usually Facebook that isn’t working. (Facebook + College students all on one network = Refreshing 20 times before loading the homepage) I tried the last few days but I didn’t want to keep on waiting for the videos to post this blog.

I think I possibly figured out the problem… so be excited for some cool videos in the next blog! :)

I got back from Kaleo not too long ago and it was amazing as usual! I know I’ve talked about this before but Kaleo (the Wednesday night chapel) really is one of my favorite things here at APU. Woody, one of the campus pastors) talked about Daniel chapter 5 and I won’t try to explain it all but overall the message was how things became idols for us, especially as college students with all this new freedom of choice. I think the part I loved the most is that I’ve heard the ‘you shouldn’t have idols’ sermon so many times but every time Kaleo comes around I learn something new and relevant to my life.

The same concept is true in my Exodus/Deuteronomy class. I heard that Exo/Deut was a really interesting course but then I realized it was studying Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. This might sound really interesting to you, but for me, I’ve always kind of prefered the New Testament. I didn’t randomly pick up my Bible and decide I was just going to read Exodus and Leviticus. (Awesome if you do though!) I’ve always heard “there is something new you can get out a Bible story each time you read it” and I really thought I understood that. But now I’m reading things in Genesis that I’ve never really read enough to understand before, even though I’ve read the entire book of Genesis. I think I’ve relied too much on felt-board versions of Bible stories than really reading the text for what it says.

I’m sorry that I don’t have any colorful pictures or videos this blog but be ready for my next one!

Week In The Life Of A Freshman

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

So this blog is a few days late, but the bonus of it being late is that you get it with pictures and an example of a normal week in my life. My week has been pretty random, so here are my awesome APU highlights! :)

Sunday: We went to a beach bonfire with our brother hall.  We celebrated their RA’s (see note below) birthday with hotdogs and cake. It was fun, but I was definitely tired. Note to self: Get more sleep before going somewhere. Actually, getting more sleep in general would be a pretty good idea.

The mix of wind and fire made it hard to heat our hotdogs!

The mix of wind and fire made it hard to heat our hotdogs!

Huntingtons Beach at night with Meredith, Libby, and Susie :)

Huntington's Beach at night with Meredith, Libby, and Susie :)

Monday: My Mondays feel generally pretty crazy. I have three classes on Mondays, which isn’t too bad, but one of them is 3 hours long and chapel starts at 9:30.  Something interesting probably happened, but I apparently can’t think back a week :) I’m sure there was homework involved. Oh, and this is the day I locked myself out of my room so I studied in our Study Room until Rachel (my roommate) got home.  (By the way, RA’s can unlock the doors for you, but it costs $5) I love the Study Room.

Tuesday: The Freshman had a “Street Meets” which was called a Lumberjack Dance. I don’t really know what the point of the whole thing was, but it was similar to a hoedown with plaid/checkered flannel. The highlight for me was when the RA’s from each dorm performed group dances. I wish I had would have been able to video it! Engstrom was the most amusing, but the Trinity RA’s had the most skill.  I wasn’t able to stay at the dance long though because I had a test the next morning as well as an Alpha meeting. We had our Alpha meeting at 10:30pm after getting coffee at the Cornerstone Cafe because it is the only time that fits our whole group’s schedule. Alphas group are a required once a week meeting with a random group of people from the Beginnings class, lead by an sophomore who volunteered to be an Alpha leader.  It was a very informal meeting and we just had a lot of fun sharing stories and eating delicious Pizookie (an ice cream and cookie dessert) that our Alpha leader Jen made for us.

TIffanys view from the dance

TIffany's view from the dance

Wednesday: Wednesday morning I thought I was going to have my first APU test. My teacher told us to study two chapters in our book. After staying up until 3:00am, studying the two chapters and one wrong one, I felt pretty prepared. Unfortunately, I was a bit over prepared.  My professor’s version of a ‘test on the chapters’ ended up being essentially a 15-question quiz worth 5 points. Needless to say, I realized I should ask for more information on ‘tests’ before studying in that class.

My hall had Family Dinner together! Family dinner consisted of as many 3N Girls going to the Caf together and fitting into one long table. The Caf was reasonable full when we got there at 6:30 and finding a table for 20+ girls was difficult.  The only tables available near each other were in a huge corner that made it hard for anyone to move around. A few of the girls resorted to climbing under the table so they could get more food. It was pretty funny and possibly a bit gross, but we were all able to eat as a ‘family’ (and that’s what counts :)  Every Wednesday Night we have Kaleo, which is my favorite chapel service.

Almost all of the 3N Girls

Almost all of the 3N Girls

I love Kaleo with all of my heart.  The services have been getting so crowed that people have started to line up as early as 8:15 to be sure they get in for the service at 9:00. We are going over the book of Daniel in a way that it is applied to our lives directly connecting to scripture.  Instead of going story by story, we are taking a chapter or two at a time and digging into it while making it personal. I’m sure I’m doing a terrible job at explaining it, but I promise, Kaleo really is awesome.

Thursday: I’m pretty sure something exciting in our hall on Thursday but again, the days seem to blur a bit.

Friday: Friday was a really exciting day for me! I had my normal classes that were great, but the highlight of the day was seeing my friend Lainey. I haven’t really been able to see anyone I know closely for a month and I was so happy to see her face! She goes to a different school about 45 minutes away, but neither of us have cars which makes it difficult to hang out.  Lainey and I have been best friends since 4th grade but she moved to Illinois in 8th grade. Seeing her was definitely a blessing.

My mom made me promise wed take pictures but my camera is broken. My used Photobooth instead :)

Promised my mom we'd take pictures but my camera is broken. My used Photobooth in my dorm instead :)

Saturday: I went to the football game vs. the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. It was fun to cheer them on and even more fun when they won 23-7. There were some awesome fumble returns and an amazing field goal!

Libbys view of the APU football game

Libby's view of the APU football game

Wearing our Blackout at the football game :)

Wearing our Blackout at the football game :)

Sunday: On Sunday I pretty much slept all day. I’ve never been able to go to bed early and college definitely didn’t change that habit. I use my weekends to make up for the 5/6 hours of sleep I get during the week. I basically spent all day in bed but I attempted to do homework too. I wrote my speech for Public Communications and almost started this blog :). I took a break of doing nothing to go celebrate my hall-neighbor’s birthday at Tutti Fruity, a local frozen yogurt place that is not only delicious but also gives APU students 15% off!

Wishing Meredith a Happy Birthday at Tutti Fruiti!

Wishing Meredith a Happy Birthday at Tutti Fruiti!

Monday: My Monday was a crazy day again which is why this blog didn’t get posted this morning.  I love my Exodus/Deuteronomy class but it sometimes causes a brain overload. The hardest part of the day was Public Comm because I was second to give my ‘Story Speech.’

My speech was a fairytale story I made up for the girls I nannied for this summer. I’m not a huge fan of public speaking even though I talk too much. The formality too it is a bit daunting for me and I was definitely nervous.

After Speech I saw a friend from my Into to Communications class and had a fun time hanging out in her hall. Unfortunately when I got back to 3rd North after 10pm I realized I had a quiz in my Health and Wellness class. A neighbor of mine has that class too so we attempted to study in the hall kitchen but we were very easily distracted by pretty much everything and anything. During our ‘study breaks’, which there were more of then actual studying, I started this blog. By the time I got to bed I realized like I hadn’t learned very much, my blog wasn’t finished or proof-read, and I had to be up at 7:45 for my Walk/Jog/Run class.

Tue: When I woke up, the day wasn’t looking too promising. I was tired and was worried about my quizzes. Thankfully, my Health and Wellness test was very easy for me and since we could leave as soon as we were done, I had time to eat and study a little bit more for my Into to Lit quiz. Now I plan on either watching something on Hulu or taking a nap before starting homework. Good day :)

Feel free to add comments or ask any questions!

-Kelsey

*Resident Assistant- An upperclassman who is in our hall all year to support, counsel, and love on us

Beach Trip

Monday, September 21st, 2009

My hall’s awesome RA* (see note below) Megan planned a trip last weekend to celebrate our first week of classes. It was really nice to be able to go somewhere, forget about homework, and most of all, celebrate at the beach!!

About 20 of us piled into cars and took off to Huntington Beach!!

By the time we got there half of the group wanted to go eat but I stayed with the group heading towards the water.

The half that wanted to go straight to the water!

The half that wanted to go straight to the water!

I’m from Northern California and while we have some beautiful beaches, they are usually very cold and windy. Especially because I lived pretty far north. Only brave kids got farther than their ankles in the freezing water and I wasn’t one of them. So the idea of a warm beach was extremely exciting!! It has been a really long time since I’ve been to a warm beach. It was weird to see all of the girls go so far out into the ocean and swim in the huge waves. I’ve been taught never to go above waist level because of the horrible sleeperwaves in NorCal. It was really fun to just hang out in the sun too.

We laid out on the beach for a while and then switched with the other group and ate at BJ’s. BJ’s is a really good restaurant that has delicious deep-dish pizza and Pizookies. Pizookies are huge cookies baked in a deep dish covered with vanilla bean ice cream and they are amazing.  A bunch the girls in the hall are planning a trip to go there (and the beach) soon!

Overall, it was an amazing time to get to know the girls in my hall better, hangout at the beach, and have some amazing food.

Our entire group!

Our entire group!

*Resident Assistant- An upperclassman who is in our hall all year to support, counsel, and love on us.